A Moment

(Warning: mild Alias spoilers for season 1)

You know how you know you watch too much TV?

Kat and I had just finished Psych and were attempting to figure out our new show to watch. We were going to do Sports Night but finally settled on Alias as usually we watch shows I have watched, but Alias  is one that Kat has seen and I have not.

We got to the episode where Sydney decides to turn her father in and as soon as he walks into the meeting and says something about how Sydney can now learn the truth I go "Oh, it was the mother who was the spy."

Kat informs me that most people would not jump to that conclusion at once, but it makes good, economical sense to have the mother be the spy, and have Vaughn's dad be killed by this unknown agent who could be Sydney's dad -- too many characters can drag a show down.

So yes. I watch too much television because I knew without any real foreshadowing about this secret on Alias. I am a giant dork.

A Second List of Possibilities

Shows that have been added to my repertoire:

36. Psych

37. Alias

38. Futurama

39. Avatar: The Last Airbender

40. The IT Crowd 

41. Sherlock 

42. Black Adder

43. Sports Night

44. Episodes

45. Mr. Sunshine 

46. Dead Like Me
47. Fullmetal Alchemist

Influences

For a blog about analyzing writing, lately, its become slightly personal. I don't know where the last entry came from, except I didn't have anywhere else to put it. I need to update this more -- figure out where its actually going and coming from. But anyways, I'll do that later.

There was a facebook meme going around where you put down 15 authors who have influenced you. I think it was more about thoughts and ideas then about writing, but I think its applicable. I didn't post it on facebook, but I'll post it here along with commentary. They are listed in no particular order, just who I thought of first.

1. Douglas Adams 

Comedy has never been a strong suit of mine. If I do anything comedic, it is always sarcastic and dry; very British as my friends would say, though to be honest, I don't know if its true that British humor is so clear cut. I will, however, admit to the fact that Douglas Adams always makes me want to write comedic stuff. I once attempted it by emulating his voice -- putting the preposterous into a statement that appears to make sense -- and it was awful, just awful.

That being said, Douglas has influenced the way I view writing about space. My NaNo, which changed dramatically this year, was in space, and I often found myself borrowing from some of the more ridiculous things that Douglas does -- the names, and on occasion, the creatures. There was a lot of creative energy, imagination and plan interest in all of Douglas's work, and that is something I aspire to.

2. Neil Gaiman

Its funny, I was reading The Sandman at the desk the other day and someone asked me what else Neil had written that I had read. I got kind of stuck because despite the fact that I feel like there is a lot of Neil Gaiman out there, I haven't read all of it. I've done Stardust and American Gods. I've read The Graveyard Book and some of his short stories, but when it comes down to it, I am always at a loss as to what to say when someone asks that question.

Neil's influence on me has not been writing style -- I will admit I found some of American Gods hard to read because of the writing style -- but rather on ideas. In Stardust, Fairy is constantly changing, growing as people dream it, and it came from seeing a wall while driving. In American Gods, a war is coming, but it is between the old gods, and technology itself, a fascinating mixing of layers and intrigues.

I don't want to write like Neil, I want to think like Neil -- finding a story where ever you look.

3. Clive Barker

Abarat is the only book I have read by Clive (plus its sequel) and if you've never read it, I hope you do. When you do, I suggest you get the color version with his artwork. Its beautiful.

That being said, Clive has actually influenced me in other ways then me thinking about writing a story with images (though after reading Abarat I thought about trying it. Its an in progress project that will take forever to finish because its all on my mother's computer and I would need a wacom tablet to really do it). Similar to Neil, Clive has amazing ideas. The idea of twenty four islands that exist as times of day is interesting and provides a fantastical and fantastic backdrop for the story, which is surprising and rich.

Abarat was the most original story I had read at the time and when I was done I sat still, wondering how I would ever write something so different from what you expect.

4. Diane Duane

Young Wizards and the world that it inhabits is probably my favorite series apart from Harry Potter. In some ways, Diane's world outclasses J. K.'s, but really I would like to keep them as separate as possible, despite them both being about wizards working behind the scenes of our own world. Now that's out of the way...

I don't remember reading the first book in this series clearly. So You Want to be a Wizard was good, but a little distant to me at the time, but the idea of magic being controlled by words -- the Speech -- a basic language for the universe was so interesting to me. Young Wizards remains completely technologically based with the Speech being a programming language. The concept of the world as such is extremely pleasing to my world view -- everything based on logic in terms of magic, making the twists that the characters manage to pull out all the better because you don't see it coming but it makes so much sense.

But its not just the internal rules making so much sense (despite the shifting time period, though I appreciate that as who would want to read a book that was still in the eighties when there are so many opportunities in modern life to play with for Diane), its also about the character's themselves. Nita especially.

I am so glad I read these books as a teenager (and again as a young adult, they are still coming out). There is something so relatable about the characters and you love them and sometimes you hate them, but you always understand where they are coming from. Wizard's Dilemma never fails to make me cry -- hard and most of the way through the book -- Wizards at War never fails to make my heart skip a beat in the middle, and at the end my heart breaks over and over again. A Wizard of Mars had me cheering at the end, despite my disinclination towards Nita and Kit being together. These are characters that I love and I want to keep reading about them. And that is the main influence I have gotten from Diane.

The last thing I got from her is the fact that you can have serial novels -- there is no limit to the number of Young Wizard novels she can write because the premise is solid. Saving the world is Nita and Kit's job -- but its also Dairine's and Carmela's -- and all the characters you never get to meet. They aren't the only ones saving the world, we just get to watch their part, and that is really interesting to me.

5. William Styron

Whenever I get asked what my favorite book is, I feel an onrush of panic. What to say? I love Harry Potter a lot, but what about Young Wizards? And what if its just one book that I have to decide on -- my favorite book from a series? I don't generally, read books that are stand alone making it difficult to decide. So I say "What? That's like Sophie's Choice! Deciding on ONE book as my favorite? Luckily, I really like Sophie's Choice so let's say that."

Of all the authors I have read, William Styron (who I can't call by his first name), has influenced my writing style. I read Sophie's Choice in high school in the best English class I've ever been in (AP English with DePeter) and we looked at the language carefully and it was then that I decided -- I want to write like this.

Styron introduced me to the dash, to beautiful language, to self referential writing, to discussion of mental illness without really talking about it. There is so much about this book that I want to emulate. If I were to ever write a novel that wasn't fantasy/sci fi, I would want to write a novel like Sophie's Choice.

6. Louisa May Alcott

There's a FRIENDS episode where Rachel says she has re-read Little Women a lot, a classic, and I know exactly what she means. I have re-read Little Women so many times since I first opened it in third grade. Each time I come away with something new -- a different association, and point of interest. Little Women still makes me cry when Beth dies, still makes me incredibly happy when Laurie comes for Amy in Vevey, and remains one of my favorite books of all time.

Sometimes I think about how the book is set up -- a group of stories about a family that loves one another. There is a moral -- all books at that time had to have one -- but if you ignore the moral, then you get a lovely portrait of people -- and that is the important message about writing. Character's always drive my interest in reading, and in writing.

7. L. M. Montgomery

Similar to Ms. Alcott, Mrs. Montgomery has a childhood appeal to her. I read Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, and Anne of the Island before stopping. I like thinking of these three books as a trio and ignoring the rest because I never got into the rest. However the appeal is partly Anne -- again a character based story surprisingly -- but also the kind of childhood scrapes people get into, the childlike delight Anne takes in everything which allows a nostalgic feeling and that is something I enjoy and use today in my own writing.

8. J. K. Rowling

While I don't remember reading So You Want to be a Wizard for the first time, I remember Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone clearly. I was in England in fifth grade for a month, and I was in my aunt's house, which was a converted barn at the time. My cousin Josh gave me the book, and said he liked it, and I had already received Chamber of Secrets from my grandmother for Christmas, so I thought Why not?


I didn't stop reading until I got to the end. This is the first book I read cover to cover. And I still remember how freaked out I was by the end, how I kept making funny noises and shaking with how awesome this book was/is.

There is no way that J. K. couldn't have influenced me. The subtle influence, of word choice and character creation is something that comes from other places, but for me the reason J. K. continues to be a major influence in my writing is the world building she did.

9. C. S. Lewis

After the last post you might be confused as to why I would put down a clearly Christian writer, but L. M. Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott were more preachy about religion then these books in my opinion. Well except The Magician's Nephew, but lets move on.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was certainly among the first books that I remember reading. I re-read them every now and then (and with the new movie, which I still have not seen, so no spoilers please) I probably will read them again. There is something incredibly nostalgic and endearing about them that I love. This from a series that was published around the time of Lord of the Rings and with just as rich a background story, but with language that was easy to understand, and a story that takes a lot of the ancient and makes it modern.

10. Phillip Pullman

As soon as I put down C. S. Lewis, I knew I had to put down Phillip. I ran through The Golden Compass, was obsessed with The Subtle Knife and got The Amber Spyglass the day it came out (I was sick, but my dad picked it up for me... also was in sixth grade so I wasn't able to go at midnight to wait for it). Again, as with J. K. I was subtly influenced by Phillip. His writing is interesting and nuanced. It laces science with religion and creates a world that is almost, but not quite, like our own in such a way that you believe it -- deeply and seriously.

I read other things by Phillip -- though I can't remember them clearly as Sally Darling did not stay in my head the way Lyra did -- but what I do remember is the complexity of character, the way it was definitely the characters that drew me in. And, would you look at that, I love characters.

11. Tamora Pierce

Without a doubt Tamora Pierce has influenced the way I write the most seriously. My first attempt at a chaptered work was a cheap Tammy knock off. There is a lot to be said about what Tammy did for my sense of fantasy writing. Large scale battles, and women with swords and magical fire that burst from their fingertips had never occurred to me until I read her work.

Tammy's worlds are typically fantastical, but they are rooted in reality. There are gods and goddesses that regularly visit and talk with characters. Magic is common, and possessed by those born to it. The thing about Tammy's work is not that she breaks boundaries in her worlds, but in that she empowers her female characters while maintaining their femininity. They are people and it wasn't until I got into broader fantasy that I realized this was not common.

12. Garth Nix

If you have never read Sabriel I suggest you do. The world Garth created in this work is endlessly fascinating with a deep and rich background history. And he does it over and over again. I have only read the Old Kingdom series and The Keys to the Kingdom, but both of them have wonderful worlds and a definite sense of time and space.

The attention to real detail is something that I have picked up from Garth. He is specific in many of his descriptions, lending them the aspects of the objects or things in question. Scenes are better done when there is an exact quality to the descriptions, ideas of time and space and clearer when you are given measurements (though not too many). I have never read anything else quite like it, but I find the level of detail in Garth's work something to live up to.

13. David Sedaris

Moving out of my childhood books, we get to David. Ah David, you funny, funny man. I have already said that humor has never been my strong suit, but I do find that reading and listening to it to be the best way to learn how it is done. Whether it is through the comedy of performance (which David does) or the way he states things with clarity, he is able to provoke a laugh.

Sometimes a turn of phrase, or a way of saying something that is so thoroughly different and bizarre, but perfectly right, will come out of me and I know it has come from reading him.

14. Malcolm Gladwell

Moving out of fiction all together we get to Malcolm and Mary. Malcolm Gladwell has influenced the way I think in many respects, not because I agree with him all the time, but because every time he says something I think about whether or not I do agree with him based on his arguments.

Writing fiction might not be trying to make you agree that communication is the best, but it certainly is about trying to get people to believe in what you are writing. Malcolm has shown some obvious flaws in logic in some of his writing, but the interesting thing is not that he does so, but that it can show you flaws in your own logic. There have been times when I have found myself backpedalling, attempting to find the edge of my "argument" because I can sense such a hole appearing. I'd like to give some of that credit to Malcolm.

15. Mary Roach


Dealing with horrible situations with dry witticisms, Mary Roach has convinced me that it is always important to have a sense of humor. Death seems to attract Mary a little, but I don't mind, it does me too -- and for Mary its always a little different. However, the tendency, that I believe is mostly human, to add humor to situations that are grime is very telling.

All death, mayhem and horror is not something you read. Gallows humor on the other hand -- you can read and laugh.



So there it is. My 15 influences. Who's influenced you, people who are starting to comment on here to my shock. :)

Religious Preference?

I was at the hospital today and was asked if I had a religious preference in the admissions interview. I have never been asked if I had a religious preference -- except by facebook and places where I could make it public if I chose -- so I was thrown into a loop of unexpected questioning.

I am an atheist, and it is an incredibly important part of my self identity. Its been increasingly important throughout college as I was exposed to people with strong religious beliefs and found myself challenged to think about other forms and ways of life. There was L, who was adamantly Christian and thought that evolution was fine, but God had set it up to run, and K who was Catholic and intense about her conservative norms (despite being a lesbian, her one aberration). There is B who feels that God has to exist as a power in the universe, and M who was brought up Christian but has atheistic leanings. There is C who is a Methodist, and B who is born-again, and lets not even start in on C who will pray to God to clean his food when it falls on the ground. Anyways, there is so much religion out there that seems to predominate everything about the world, and I didn't realize it until I got to college.

Before college I hadn't really thought too much about it. Atheism seemed to come naturally to me as a result of thinking hard about what the universe was like. I spent my younger years thinking that God was some sort of big guy in the sky, and being confused about the father son and holy ghost bit, but really caring about Santa and the Tooth Fairy more. When I was in Catholic School for two years, I thought for a while I was Christian, but the more I went to mass, the more I felt like it was all empty gestures, done to impress someone who didn't exist. I wasn't sure what it meant when I said I didn't believe in god, and until high school, I didn't really admit to being an atheist, still trying to figure out what the word meant.

I did eventually proclaim to the world I was an atheist. Science bases my world, and according to science, there really isn't a need for a big guy in the sky, a force in the universe, God, to do anything. Molecules will form, evolution will occur, without magic, or a watchmaker or whatever. The world spins, the universe expands and science explains it all. Even if there were a big guy out there orchestrating everything, he wouldn't be needed, so why have him at all?

I was brought up in a world where science is expanding its knowledge at every turn, and explaining the things we used to not be able to explain, but also in a world where religion still holds on to the minds of everyone around me and it makes me sad. What also makes me sad, is the fact that because I don't conform to a religious ideology, people will make assumptions -- mean and jagged assumptions.

Only once have I been attacked for my stance on God personally, but I often feel attacked. Every sign that proclaims that God has something to do with so-called morality, every time someone (even myself, for I will confess to using 'God' in a habitual manner) uses God as a noun, as a person who can hear what is being said, or explicative, tells me that I am strange, that I should believe because non-belief is tantamount to admitting I am an alien from another planet.

To me there is an important distinction between non-religious, and atheism. Julia Sweeney says in 'Letting Go of God' that she just considers herself to be a naturalist, and religious people are therefore a-naturalist, and while I sincerely believe what she says for her reasons why, the common person won't without the background that explains what a naturalist is.

This morning I was moved into a waiting area and when the nurse came to register me, she looked at me and said "Ms. Waters, do you have a religious preference?" and I froze. I thought about whether or not atheism counted as a religion, or if there was a label for it in her system. I sometimes have this paralysis over the question "race". If there is an option for "other" I write in human. Race is not a true distinction, merely a formal construct, like god, that humans created. But atheism is not a religion, its a lack of religion.

So I sat there feeling like I was betraying myself, worrying over I was counted now as "non-religious" or atheist.

I said atheist in the end. It is, and remains, who I am.

NaNoWriMo Day 11

Week two stop kicking my ass.

I have done NaNo for six years and this is the first year I've had a week two. Well, its not the fault of the story, more the fault of my professors having huge projects due in classes and tests this week, and being an RA so I have to do things like put up posters and have floor events, plus Harry Potter next week, so its gotten a little crazy writing time wise.

I also might have made a decision that the people at NaNo would call stupid. I changed my entire story.

Okay, so yes, not the best plan when 1667 words a day looks difficult to work in (even for ME, when it takes half an hour to get out 1000 words at most these days), and now I have to play catch up. But, on the plus side, I'm actually liking this story.

We got a pep talk the day after I decided to quit the current story and it said that you shouldn't quit because the writing gets hard or boring, and just plow through. For beginning NaNoers, I agree. Don't quit because it gets hard. Struggling through three hundred words about the sunset or some such is not an excuse to restart your novel. But when you're 13,000 words in, and you have yet to find someone or something that sustains your interest for 1000 words, and every day getting up an writing 2000 words is a drastic struggle and relief, it sucks the fun out of the month.

Yes, writing is not supposed to be about the good days, its about the days when you just don't want to write but do it anyways. I believe this. But there is a difference from slogging through a hard novel that you are still unsure of because it sounds so cliche, with characters that don't interest you incredibly, and writing something that makes you like writing it.

I'm basically trying to justify why I restarted and abandoned Alane and friends. Perhaps that novel is not supposed to be written. Perhaps, Tia and Penny want to be written more. Whatever the reason, I can write 50,000 words easily in a month. Shouldn't I at least enjoy it?

Especially when its a month as busy as this one for me. I'm a senior in college. I have to pass all my classes, and be a RA, and not fuck my residents up too much, and have some semblance of a social life. Possibly. Maybe?

I'm probably writing myself in circles here.

NaNoWriMo Day 6

Fail.

Just fail.

Now that's out of the way, on with the extravaganza!

I've been reading, I was going to say a lot, but in reality it hasn't been much as I've been super busy. Anyways, what happens around now is the people who don't like NaNo start talking about why NaNo is not a good thing. I was reading an article about how NaNoWriMo just puts more crap out there, and it makes the efforts of "real" writers who do it "right" less significant.

I have things I get upset over. Religion is among them, as is the woman's right to chose, and these statements produce the same sort of rage I get when I read about people saying I'm going to hell for not believing in god, or when someone says that abortion makes angels weep or any of that other type of crap.

True, there are people who write for a living. But does that make them "real" writers? I think not. I consider myself to be a real writer, and I have never published anything. To me being a "real" writer is more about the need to write then about whether you're published or not. There are pleanty of people who are published who I think are utter jackasses who aren't writing good literature (Stephanie Myer I'm looking at you). The fact that you think that these "real" writer's professions are diminished by other people trying it out disgusts me.

Writing is a creative expression, its not like plumping, or engineering, where you could make an applicable comment. No one should EVER say anything about someone else's creative expression without considering the consequences. This does not mean that I think that people aren't bad, I do. But to me, bad is writing about teen vampires who are afraid to change their girlfriend simply for plot -- apparently most teenage girls would disagree with me.

The point is its subjective and telling someone to not write if they want to is stifling them. What harm does it do to you, other then to hurt your own inflated ego as a "real" writer for amateurs to attempt something you do all the time. If your work is really that great, then you don't need to worry about what other people think.

Maybe this is because to me, writing is an expression of myself. I would do it no matter what other people do or say. I don't do it for glamor, or praise. I do it because not doing it physically hurts. My life is enriched my writing. If someone told me to stop I wouldn't. So why would I have the right, or anyone else, to tell anyone else to stop?

Anyways.

Day six and I've finally got around to some blogging. I'm at about 13,000 words, which is lower then I intended to be at. I'm averaging about 2000 words a day, which is fine, but I did intend to write much, much more for this month. Maybe it will shore me up so that when I get a short break -- Thanksgiving is coming up -- and can attempt real 10,000 words days. I did try yesterday with that but was disappointed because I was so tired.

I could consider it today, but I'm too tired really to do anything more then want to sleep.

It would be unfortunate if I got mono, I suppose.

Well, I believe this is the end of my post. I haven't done much blogging about the process, but I wanted some response to the things I have read to be put somewhere.

NaNoWrIMo

23 minutes until the craziest month of the year begins. November is a fascinating, joy filled time for me because I once again embark on a novel. This year I still don't know what I'm writing and we're now 21 minutes away from the time that you can put the first word on the page that can count.

In general I plan before novel writing. Not a whole lot, just some. I like to create the characters, and delve into the world a little. This is why RPG, while looked down upon by some authors, really helps. You get through the awkward phase where your character is you, reacting and responding to everything, and change it into a separate entity. Its like pregnancy, holding on to this child, and then setting them free to grow and develop more in the novel you write later.

That being said, my favorite character, the one I spent the most time writing while RPing was Adair, who I have not written in something I would like to share with people. Instead she exists, in and out, in other forms.

Still, Ian, Molly and Alice had a good start in RP. Alice especially had an excellent start -- though perhaps this was because I was older, and more mature in my writing. Or so I would like to think.

17 minutes now. I'm kind of pumped. I should be reading about RNA and how it transcribes DNA, but there is a definite excitement in my life, a jump up and down, life is good excitement.

I am contemplating blogging my NaNo. At first this was going to be in a new blog, but this one works just as well. The writing process can be impeded by too much thought, but this is not about trying to make it work for others, but rather for myself.

14 minutes. My phone just went off to inform me of my test tomorrow. I am instead contemplating where to start. My novel this year, I believe, will be the Book of Gates. I have two groups to juggle -- Alane and Mya are the main characters. Mya fascinates me more then Alane does, and in the interest of time and in an effort to just keep writing, I believe I will start with Mya.

I was thinking, reading through some of the Mary-Sue stuff about various characters, that perhaps the whole original idea of the Book of Gates should be scrapped. The most exciting thing about it is Mya and I am heading into 12 novels? Not exciting. We'll see though, because there is a powerful pull from Alane.

9 minutes.

Even if I were to get rid of the entire idea for the entire plot and do something else -- a sequel to A/I/M or the Tower story with Benny and Nat -- I am unsure of where I would start. The other thing I could do would be my literary fiction novel -- Six Impossible Things -- but my creative writing teacher has turned me off to the idea.

I have realized I am going to need a playlist for the month. Perhaps I shall wander off in the last seven minutes to the forums to see suggestions for creating a playlist. Then again, they rarely do what I want -- which is to have songs that make me want to write.

3 minutes.

I had forgotten that the sites gets slower and slower as the first goes by. It is making things more difficult for me. But its fine. We're getting closer and closer. Soon it will be word counts instead of minutes.

I have thought about how I am going to do this. Posts will be short from here until the end of November, but I'm sure you can manage that. I am not expecting much traffic through here. But this is my writing process, how I do things.

No one can tell me what to do. National Novel Writing Month is about to begin.

Hold your breath. We're into the opening stretch.

Two Episodes In

Who was excited by this TV season? Me, that's who. How did the season do as compared to my predictions? Well, some of the shows I haven't gotten around to watching. Anything on Monday at 8 gets cut into by my biochemistry class, so I haven't watched House yet. HIMYM I have watched, because I like doing it with BBT. So lets start with these two.

HIMYM --

This show did well for the first episode. The frame within the frame within the frame was excellent. Robin was still not pleasing as a character, but I have given up on her a little, and am just giggling at the show now. Having given up on standard characterization, the show has fallen prey to the characteristics of sitcom -- over generalization and flanderization. Barney has lost control, Ted is repeatedly placed into positions that make him seem more and more ridiculous. Lily has become shrewish, and Marshall has become more small town, if that is possible. Robin has degenerated into typical femaleness. Still, having these character tropes is not necessarily bad. They can still be funny and lovable, and I'm going to keep watching because... well who is the mother.

I think that they have to reveal who the mother is finally, or its going to stretch the premise to the breaking point. Sure its just the frame, but there is something to be said to remaining true to what you began. I would lose an enormous amount of respect (probably all they have left from me) for the writers if they tried to pull a fast on us again like they did last season with the information about how the mother was in that classroom.

Season six will be interesting to watch and see how they shape things towards that wedding where Ted is the best man. (My prediction is that Barney is getting married. To who? Robin of course. Clearly I am slightly delusional).

Big Bang Theory --

Solid start to the fourth season. Despite the fact that it has been proclaimed that Penny and Sheldon will never be together (and there was something of a jibe about it in the episode), I still think that it could lead somewhere what with that awkward date with Sheldon, his date and Penny. I mean, come on. My fear of the loss of ensembleness that was with this show has been slightly alleviated, though not completely. Howard got face time (hilariously), but Leonard hasn't really had a story in a while, nor has Raj. It continues to be a Sheldon/Penny show. As a character person it bothers me that there isn't a lot of development for the side characters, but for the show it probably works, because most of the humor is found in Sheldon's behavior.

Bones --

Oh Bones! "Gather your squinterns!" Back to the witty banter and Brennan being slightly out there, and just Bonesy goodness. Gotta say the fact that they all got called back for Cam was good, but a little contrived. Still, the first episode was excellent and amusing (though, it annoyed me that the kidnapping case had the father as the bad guy, because I was like "But no! Colby would never do such a thing!" since Dylan Bruno was the actor). The second episode was actually amazing. I dislike Hannah because of the way she speaks, but appreciate that she speaks like she is writing something, which humanizes and characterizes her. But the really amazing part of the second episode was the way that the writers could finally begin to pull on some of the emotional strings they have been playing with for the past five years. Brennan's "I am the only one who is where they expected to be" and her in the bar at the end was heartbreakingly good. Way to have pay off for your hard work Bones. Now, don't blow it, as you are prone to do.

Glee I'm not going to talk about because they upset me by falling back into their usual annoying pattern. 30 Rock was done well, but nothing in particular to talk about with them. I think that's all I've watched. Maybe I'll do an episode recap soon. Maybe not. We'll see. ;)

Gearing Up

The 2010 - 2011 TV season begins Monday. I believe some shows have started but the majority of the shows I watch are getting their first episode next week. Here's what I'm following and why.

MONDAY:
House, MD --
We left off last season with House and Cuddy making out. WHAT?! Six years and now they start making out? HOW WILL THEY MANAGE SEASON SEVEN? I am curious to see what kind of things they can put House through while still keeping him House. However, I have been scared by How I Met Your Mother's treatment of characters who get together who should be together, so I am unsure if they will manage to pull through this drastic change. Still, it will be exciting and different and could re-energize the show.

How I Met Your Mother --
So, I hated season 5 of this show. Maybe it was the way I watched it, spread out like it is, or possibly its that the writers decided to ruin Robin, who is my favorite female on television, but either way, season 5 was not a good season for me. The last episode was probably the best (because DON IS GONE!) And it was a good place to be leaving off, with change in the air. I think the next season may be able to lift me out of the funk I am in with this show, but we shall see.

Castle --
A third season for Nathan Fillion? SHOCK. But this show has so much excellent, and raw, potential. They had the sense in the finale to have Kate realize she might like Castle enough to give it a go. They are pushing the boundaries they have set up with the week to week stuff and I like it. How far they can go, we will see, but I think that they are clever enough to make it work, and Nathan and Stana are going to make it work with the chemistry enough for me to give up on the writing and still love the show.

TUESDAY:
Glee --
We all know I don't like Glee about 75% of the time. I had my rant before. In my season finale episode wrap up post, which never got published, I mentioned that the finale of Glee was where the writers really got some pay off, and THAT IS HOW PACING IS DONE GUYS. Maybe they will take it from there, but I worry that its a once in a blue moon kind of thing. I have also heard they are cutting down on music and that is not okay with me. But, on the plus side, Kurt is getting a boyfriend and I think this season may have potential, we will have to see.

THURSDAY:
This is the big night.

Bones --
This past season bored me a little, gotta say. It wasn't that it wasn't good, but the little things started to get at me that didn't used to. Like the palm trees that DO NOT EXIST IN WASHINGTON, or the fact that the Washington Metro has a very specific look, and they ignored it, or the fact that that building that was at "American University" could not exist on this campus. But, I like that they have managed to move into a new place with the Bones/Booth relationship. The taking a year break I think is actually an amazing idea. I thought it was well conceived, if not thought out. I will be interested to see where they take it and what's going to happen.

30 Rock --
Oh Tina Fey. I am so hoping that she gets to have a boyfriend this season. I think it would be more fun to see her doing stuff like learning to accommodate someone else into Liz Lemon's life, then her doing the stereotypical ridiculousness they make her do on the show. I will probably be disappointed on this point, but I will continue to watch because its smart and funny.

Big Bang Theory --
Sheldon and a girl. I am a huge Sheldon/Penny shipper, but I think that the relationship that is going to unfold (spoiler) is going to be interesting to behold. I believe that it will, in fact, help my Shenny cause, as it will allow Sheldon to grow and become someone new. Leonard, Raj and Howard must also have face time, but I believe that the real draw of the show now is Sheldon. I worry, however, that BBT will lose its sense of who the show is about like HIMYM did, going from ensemble show to the Barney/Sheldon show. They may not make the same mistakes though, and we can hope that is true.

Grey's Anatomy --
Why? Why, you ask me. Well, Grey's has been a battle for me. I sometimes watch and I sometimes don't, but I believe there could be some interesting stuff coming from this season. It may also be heading towards its conclusion, as Ellen wants to get out of the Grey's business, and I am unsure if Lexie Grey can be the Grey in the title. Its going to be an interesting season, and may result in strangely good episodes.

Private Practice --
See, you should have waited until I said this show to ask me why. Not only is this worse then Grey's, all of the show has turned into a horrible mess of "WHO'RE YOU SLEEPING WITH?". But CHARLOTTE AND COOPER ARE GETTING MARRIED. LOVE.

So that's the new season for me. Maybe a new show will catch my eye. I am debating Nikita, as a new show, but I'm unsure if I'll have time, slash it looks a little trashy. So we'll see. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

The Problem With (Glee)

I have a very good friend with whom I share a lot of TV and books and movies who once described watching Torchwood as being like crack: you know its terrible for you, you know its not amazing TV, but you have to keep watching, and when you don't, you go through withdrawal. I thought the part about having to keep watching and withdrawal to be apt (I have not examined Torchwood closely enough to decide whether its really terrible or not, I think its because I'm scared to). But the point is, some shows are like crack, and I think a prime example is Glee.

Glee's pull is the music. A show where people sing? Its like having a musical every episode and that's awesome. I love musical episodes -- they tend to be my favorite episode in a series. I love musicals in general, and so I decided to try Glee.

The major problem with Glee is not the characters (though they could use some work), nor is the plot (hackneyed and cliche in some places), its the pacing. I know I have already discussed pacing -- but that was the good kind of pacing, the kind that draws you in and compels you to keep going. Glee either is attempting this and failing, or the writers have no idea what's going on.

I started Glee after four episodes had aired and felt the compulsion to tear my hair out. They stuff so much plot into those four episodes that it feels like a full half season. Rachel and Finn happen far too quickly, the emotional pull of Emma and Will is too rapid for me to love them. Quinn is pregnant and its really Puck's, but she makes Finn think its his, and Terri is faking a pregnancy. Too much stuff is going on in four episodes for one season, let alone four episodes. The problem continues as the show goes on.

The central plot at the beginning of the series -- that glee club has to succeed in order to continue -- fizzles and dies as the series gets its back nine and so we lose the suspense that could have been built. Terri has an outrageous plan that is so stupid it hurts and degrades Will's character to a chump. Seriously? He wasn't aware that his wife was being really weird about her pregnancy? The plot meanders in and out, and attempts to be interesting, but because it was blown too early, you lose that chance.

The other thing you lose is emotion. I found this particularly jarring in recent episodes when moments that are supposed to be heartwarming just didn't make sense. I am bothered by the Rachel finding her mother storyline. Yeah, it could be interesting eventually to find out about Rachel's mother -- but leave that for another couple of seasons! You have another two already ordered, why bring in something that forces emotionality on the audience when it hasn't been built too? I was confused, sincerely confused, as to why Rachel would want to find her mother. She explained at the beginning that her "two gay dads" had found a surrogate, and yet when the mother thing came up, she suddenly wanted to know why her mother had given her up.

Well, because your mother was a surrogate, and your two gay dads wanted you and had paid money to have you.

The sudden jump to finding her mother happened in two episodes -- and herein lies another problem. This show seems to not understand the concept of time. Terri has been faking her pregnancy since after Quinn got pregnant, and yet Terri had to start padding right away while Quinn still looks like she's not in the slightest pregnant. Additionally, Terri's plan to have Quinn give her the baby during Quinn's spring break seems to be all wrong, as spring break for Jesse already happened and Quinn still doesn't look pregnant. We also spend so much time waiting for sectionals/regionals and get told its coming up so soon, yet because of that we lose the urgency that the writers were looking for.

I suppose the point of this is, Glee is an example of a show that has pacing problems. Its not a good show as a result, and is therefore like crack -- you have to keep watching it because maybe there will be a time when the writers realize what their doing and the show will become good. And in the meantime you get to listen to music. Yes, fast paced is good, but there is something to knowing when too much is happening in a show for its own good.

So take the lesson from Glee. Pacing is important. Work on it, and you might have something that is worth it, instead of just addictive (and will eventually make you lose your teeth).

Characters (Avatar)

Last night, summer staff got together and watched Avatar. I had watched it when it was in theaters and had been thoroughly disappointed by the movie. I was really excited to go see it -- the graphics alone were exciting -- but also because I thought "Well, this will be entertaining." Unfortunately, TVtropes ruined my life, and it made enjoying the movie much harder. When I say TVtropes ruined my life, I don't mean that it made things worse -- in fact I love that TVtropes ruined my life. I can see the intricate web of story that entangles movies and novels and its a new level of enjoyment that I have found in being a consumer of entertainment. But it does mean when something cliche comes out -- it had better come at things in a new way, or with compelling characters, or with some modicum of understanding that they are taking a previously done story and need to do more then give it a face lift.

I am, I'll admit, a character person. I spend most of my energy in writing on characters because without them, you don't have much of a story. I like character driven pieces, where the fate of the world may be hanging in the balance, but its not the world people are concerned about -- its their friends and families. And the friends and families are people I know. So when I say that the major failing of Avatar was the characters, you must keep in mind, that for me, characters are the only story, which is to say, I didn't like the movie. If you liked it, congratulations on not getting caught up in the trope ridden, one demensional, cliche stuffed, 3-D blockbusterness of the whole thing. I was not so lucky.

For a moment I'll put aside my rage at the problem of characterization to point out a few things about the plot of the movie to assure you that the plot of this movie is not the problem, and to draw your attention to the fact that while you can have a solid plot, without good characters, you can destroy the good parts of your narrative.

There is a school of thought that states that there are seven stories in the world: Man v. Self, Man v. Man, Man v. Society, Man v. Nature, Man v. Supernatural, Man v. Machine and Man v. Destiny. I would say that most good plots employ a few of these in order to accomplish a multi-faceted world of story. It is not necessary, if you're playing with layers of each story, to have multiple stories, but it can help to have more then one. There are several at play in Avatar: Man v. Man, Man v. Society, Man v. Supernatural -- they all come into play in some way and in some ways there are so many interesting interactions that could come about because of these stories. The interaction of these stories are the most interesting and compelling parts of the movie, in my opinion: when Colonel Mile Quaritch and Sully go up against one another there is real drama and it feels fresh and interesting in a way it shouldn't because we've seen this scene before. Why? Not because its in a magical, color filled world, but because its a mixture of Man v. Man, Man v. Machine, Man v. Nature, Man v. Society and all of it together is a new lens through which to view the scene.

The movie can illicit the right feeling, is the point.

Why then is there such a failure in illiciting any feeling from other parts of the film? My explanation is the characters. There is a flatness to most of the characters that has nothing to do with the characters. You've got Jake Sully who is solider boy, strong and dumb. You've got Neytiri, the warrior princess who's all cold at first and falls in love with a dofus for some reason. Grace the scientist lady, and Tsu'tey the proud warrior guy. These are the only sides of each character we see.

Jake Sully is the main character. You've got three hours to explain who he is and to make it clear why he is going to go native. Instead you get a convoluted idea that Jake Sully is a solider guy who is strong and dumb. There is no depth to his character. Events slip off of him because he's a flat surface. Look at the scene where he is shown his brother, and the lack of emotional response it gives you. He never once mentions his brother again. Could this mean they weren't close? Sure. And no, you aren't supposed to be too emotional about the brother -- but as the viewer you're not to be upset. Sully should be and it should be in his actions, but it seems like the five years of hibernating sleep makes it possible for him to just forget he had a brother who died. We never get to see the moments that make him emotional. Instead he comes off as a cliche without redemption. He might not be emotional -- fine -- but from the indications, he just has no emotions in general.

Neytiri also has a huge role in the movie and rather then go into her world, we get this cliche bullshit about how she's to be the new spiritual leader of her clan and mate Tsu'tey. Imagine the wealth of character that could be drawn from that -- the fight within herself about falling for Jake, for letting down her people, for being forced into something she might not like, or maybe she does? We are lost because we have no emotional hook. Instead she is one-dimensional and stiff. And I should note, these faults are not faults of the actors, who did well, its a fault of the writing.

The single facet of each character is focused on and what you get is a cliched story about a guy who goes native. Its a weird mixture of a Disney Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves with a heavy handed conclusion. If the characters had been more developed, beyond the single feature that separated them, then the movie would have transcended its base, and become a truly good movie. Instead its a gimmicky (creatively gimmicky, with fantastic scenery porn, but still gimmicky), cliched piece that is, at best, merely passable as entertainment.

The Fall

There are some movies that are extremely visually pleasing. Amelie for example is a very visually pleasing movie, as is House of Flying Daggers. Anything with Scenery Porn tends to be visually pleasing for a very specific reason. There are some movies that you just want to watch for the beautiful imagery.

The Fall is a movie just like this, but there is much more to this movie then just the stunning visuals (and Lee Pace wearing eyeliner).

The Fall is a story with in a story, and the beautiful thing about it is that the way it is told is so intuitive and beautiful and funny that it feels like you are a part of it. It feels natural, is what I'm trying to say. There is a moment that is completely exemplary of this feeling where Lee Pace's character says that he will go and kill every Spaniard, and the little girl listening to the story says "But he's Spanish too!" and you see the moment, the brief moment when it changes suddenly, as the character in the story looks uncomfortable and then renews his fervor as a Frenchman.

This sort of natural progression, the interweaving of the story that Roy is telling and the story of what is going on outside, draws you in and makes you think about the process of story telling.

Critics of the movie say its boring -- beautiful but boring -- and on TV Tropes everyone seems to love it and I think there's a reason for this -- a reason why there is a good bit of Terry Goodkind bashing -- because TV Tropes is a way of looking at media and discovering greater depths to it. This movie uses this knowledge and makes watching it thoroughly enjoyable.

Its one of the reasons I love TV tropes so much. Yes it does ruin watching certain things, but the only way it ruins it is if the author or writer does something stupid with a trope and turns it into a cliche. There are so many clever ways to play with tropes, use them!

David Tennant's final episode (Doctor Who)

I love Doctor Who a lot. As a fictional character he is amazing. And David Tennant is my favorite Doctor. Admittedly, I have only seen two -- Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant... and a little bit of Matt Smith much as it pains me to say it, but David (yes, I call him David, get over it) brought such an energy to the show and to everything he did on it, that I got quite a crush on the Doctor, and accepted the fact that most of the girls got crushes on him as well. Because he's just so good.

Anyways. Because I had such a crush on him, I didn't want to finish David's tenure as the Doctor. So I stopped watching half way through Planet of the Dead for a very long time. I was just so upset and unhappy about the fact that he would be leaving that putting it off seemed the best way to soothe the hurt.

Well, I finally finished this weekend, and let me say, in terms of story this was amazingly perfect (well in terms of everything and breaking my heart over and over again, but this is a blog about writing, so focus). The one mar, I must mention, will be quick.

In Planet of the Dead Christina asks if she can come along and the Doctor says "No." When asked why he says its because there have been people with him but they've all left him. This feels odd to be honest, because really what happened was he lost Rose, Martha did leave him and Donna's mind had to be wiped. Not exactly leaving him. I thought a better reason would be "No, because we would be good together, very good. But it wouldn't be a good, good. We could take over the world, and you wouldn't stop us. And I need someone to stop me sometimes, from doing the wrong thing." But ah well, it was a tiny mar in the overall story.

Then with Waters of Mars we got a magnificent story and this huge hubris from the Doctor. Pride cometh before the fall, and we knew that this was the building to the final fall -- and David's end. And this worked so well in The End of Time.

The reason it worked so well was because of the ending. The Doctor's last act is to save someone. The symmetry of it -- one where he was saving someone for his own personal happiness, and one against every molecule of his being, yet knowing that if he doesn't he can never forgive himself. Its perfect. Its beautiful.

Then there is other good stuff about dialogue and perfect moments of solemnity and comedy, but I think I will leave you with this: When David Tennant says "I don't wanna go." in the voice, and with that look, doesn't it break your heart? I cry every time I watch it, and I've watched it many times now. At least Matt Smith can make me laugh through the tears at the "I'm a girl!"

More to come when the new season starts and I will try not to let Matt Smith ruin it for me.

Final Episodes

I watch a lot of TV, so sometimes I have to do a run to wiki or imdb to figure out what is showing what week and when and add them into my calendar -- not so much to watch at that time, but so I remember to watch it later. I was doing this yesterday and discovered that Numb3rs had been cut down to 16 episodes and the finale was Friday night. Shocking enough to find myself suddenly at the end of a season, more shocking to realize the show was probably about to end (one of the actors, Rob Morrow, is leaving the show for a pilot, and since his character is one of the two main characters, its unlikely the show can manage without him).

It got me thinking though -- what makes a good series finale -- and how can you screw it up royally. Is there a way to make just a mediocre ending, or will these finales huge and momentous. Its one of the dangers of the TV format that I think is a major issue -- these are characters that you've watched for however many seasons (hopefully many) and you love them and are rooting for them and want the stories to keep going -- and yet, at some point, there is an end. Letting go is important, but keeping in tone with the show is also important. How do you manage to make a good finale episode?

Of course, spoilers will be rampant and present. If you want to avoid being spoiled for the following shows I would suggest that you don't read this one: Battlestar Galactica, Veronica Mars, Firefly, Studio Sixty on the Sunset Strip and Friends.

Let's start with the poorer finale episodes. These are the episodes that when I watched them, I felt like the show was slightly off balance -- there was something wrong in the writing. Often, the stories were annoying at best, and just wrong for the kind of show at worst.

Battlestar Galactica is currently one of my favorite shows, I will admit to that right off the bat, however, its finale was weaker then some of the other episodes from a writing perspective. Lets ignore the screaming voice in my head that says that there is not way in hell that making the characters in BSG our ancestors could be possible, and edge around the huge amount of fridge logic that apparently made its way into this episode. There are two major concerns that occur to me right off the bat -- the flashbacks, and the characterization.

Lets start with the flashbacks. Who puts flashbacks into a finale? It feels like a clip show to be honest. Lets be honest is there any information about the characters that we found out from the flashbacks that is necessary to close out their stories? Lee and Kara had chemistry when they first met? WELL DUH. We knew that from watching the goddamned show. Bill Adama loves his ship. REALLY I COULDN'T TELL! Baltar has daddy issues. At this point I don't even know what to do with Baltar's character and how much it has been fucked over. Rosalin's family died in a car crash? I mean, I actually found this flashback compelling, but it didn't add to her character in the slightest.

We're watching a finale. We don't need NEW information about these characters. We know them well. We know their intentions, the way they move, what they are supposed to do. Instead of giving more of them to us, to remind us what we're going to be loosing, we get information that's been recycled through the season. To be honest, it feels like they had a two hour episode to write, stared at it, and thought they didn't have enough story to stretch out over the two hours.

This would have been fine in a different show -- but BSG has been consistently well written in the form of a space drama since day one (with a few exceptions) -- and this finale sells it out. And its because the show was written well that the character changes are so obvious. The people that most bothered me were Baltar, Caprica Six and Kara.

Baltar's character started pissing me off completely when he started being Jesus (I once saw an icon that said "On the next Battlestar Galactica, Bill uses the glare of death, Lee gets emo and is on the verge of tears and Guis pretends to be Jesus. Again." and was super amused by it). But I'll be fair, it was within his character's capabilities. The switching sides was what bothered me. I couldn't figure out why he did it. To prove Lee wrong? When has that ever been an incentive for him? It seems that the writers were just like "Eh, he's been annoying, so let's redeem him!"

Caprica Six. Ah Tricia Helfer, you're so pretty and a good actor, why was it decided to just have you wander off with Baltar at the end? I was all right with the whole Tigh subplot of him having sex with her (all right being the key word, I was not exactly happy with it) and then the baby that she lost because Tigh didn't love her? I don't understand in the slightest. Caprica Six was in love with Baltar, not Tigh, and the whole story seemed weird, but don't just forget it. That failing the characters.

Lastly -- Kara. End of season 3 I knew she was coming back, because, well, I read ahead, so I was curious how it was going to work, what with her having died and all. The convoluted "Angels walk among us" idea though was not an appropriate way to end the series. Messages from a "God" figure whether he likes the name or not, plays far too into the origin of BSG (based on Mormon mythology? I really don't know but apparently) then into creating a space drama.

The failing of BSG was not looking at itself properly and seeing the many threads they had tugged at and realizing the important ones. Yes, Kara had to be explained, Hera had to be saved, and something had to happen to either save Galactica or find somewhere to settle down (like many shows with characters in the title, its difficult to have a show called Battlestar Galactica without the Battlestar in attendance in an episode), but you have to do it within the flavor of the show, rising the characters out of the muddied waters that have been created, and instead of getting that, the writers kept them in the mud -- the desire to wrap everything up neatly failing in more ways then one.

The problems in BSG are ones that they had time to anticipate, and perhaps that's what is so disappointing for me. They knew they were coming to an end -- and they failed at using that information to their advantage. This is not the problem for Veronica Mars however.

The problem of Veronica Mars is understandable. Not knowing about a fourth season, you have to leave it open ended enough to move forward, but still tie up a majority of the threads. What happens when you do this? Well, you end up with an episode that gets oddly distributed. The episode feels like a normal episode -- we get the mystery, we get the characters, as if nothing is different about this episode. Usually in a finale, this is a good thing, but when its too normal, you end up feeling this empty ache at the end of an episode -- Is this all I'm getting to end out this show?

I will give it to VM though, it wasn't the writers' fault in this case. Like, Firefly.

Oh Firefly, how I miss you. We're looking just at the TV show and going to avoid Serenity as the real conclusion to the show. From the stand point of not knowing that there was going to be a motion picture, lets look at the episode Objects in Space which was Joss Whedon's choice of the end of the season, if not the actual end of the show.

Firefly's own host of issues to do with broadcast make this episode feel sort of odd when watching it was the finale. I didn't find it to be a bad finale, but I didn't find it to be a particularly amazing finale. In terms of what it did well -- it created a story that felt like it closed out the show well -- River becoming a part of the group. Its what a good finale does -- creating a story within the scope of the show that ties up loose ends. What it doesn't do, however, is tie up enough of the ends.

Objects in Space is a show about River Tam, its not about the crew, its not about Mal, its about River, who, while I enjoy her character, is not the heart and soul of the show. The heart and soul is the interaction between characters, and this episode introduces a new character and cuts off the others. We are therefore left in a world that is populated by River and Early, with perhaps a bit of Simon. I felt like each of the characters had maybe one scene in this episode, even though they had more. For a finale, you want to be able to see the closing out of each character's story line and instead this episode delivered a single character show. Its why, despite the merits of creating a somewhat satisfying episode for a season finale, it is placed in the middle of these finale episodes.
Similarly, Studio Sixty on the Sunset Strip lands in the middle of finale episodes, though higher up then Firefly. I don't know whether this is something that Aaron Sorkin does since after season five of The West Wing I stopped watching to be honest, but oh the drama of this four part finale. Tom's brother and Jordan's baby being the most intense bits, but there's also something going on with Simon and Jack and of course everyone is running around, smashing things, getting upset, praying, or making fun of people for praying, flirting outrageously, and trying to comfort one another.

Here again we are presented with flashbacks -- but unlike in BSG, s60's add to the plot. We see Matt and Danny's fall from grace, see what happened to them, and why them coming back is so painful. I know I said we shouldn't get more information about the characters, but rather close out plot lines, but in this case we get both. The theater is their home, and we can see it in the flashbacks, and the horrible way they lose it, and how they have no regained it. This is a delicate balance that Aaron Sorkin walks, but its done well, and therefore it works. The flashbacks enhance the story in a way that the BSG flashbacks did not.

A negative of this show that is easier to articulate, though this might be a personal preference, is the fact that Matt's main responsibility in the present seems to be wandering around keeping people from doing much. After the drug addiction storyline, I wanted to see something happen with it. I wanted to know what was going to happen or see some sort of withdrawal. Yes, there was a lot of action to get through, but there were FOUR HOURS to get into Matt's problems, and instead we just brush the surface.

On a positive side though, most of the nagging questions of the short lived show are answered. Matt and Harriet end up together. Jordan already had the adoption papers in her bag, and was always going to marry Danny, the baby is fine, Tom's brother is rescued, Simon doesn't lose his job. We get everything we really need from the finale, and the story still feels like it's supposed to exist within the mythos of the series.

If you're looking at these examples and wondering if there's any finale that I like, I will assure you that thus far, I haven't brought up good finales. Friends and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are the two best, writing wise, finale episodes I have seen. Let's start with Buffy.

What Buffy accomplishes is huge -- bringing to a conclusion seven years of consistently good television (your opinion may vary, but writing wise, the show stayed up there, even if the concepts and ideas went a little crazy) while still remaining true to the concept and giving a good ending to the characters who are so important to us.

You can see it in the moment when the four main characters (Giles will always been a main character for me) gather together in the place where it all began, and don't talk about the terrible battle that is to come, but rather talk about what they will do after. For a show that has been about relationships and characters for quite a lot of its run, this felt like a good place to leave the characters. Then we got an awesome battle, heroic sacrifice, mad dash towards the end, and that perfect shot, of the almost smile on Buffy's face.

Chosen ties up all the loose ends for the important characters -- Anya and Spike are dead, Willow, consumed by her magic a season before, becomes a force of good, Xander remains his own, silly self, who will defend them to the end, and Buffy is no longer the Chosen one, no longer alone. It feels neat, while not contrived, and that is what all shows should strive for.

The other advantage that Buffy has going for it is that this episode doesn't break from the norm of what you would expect from an episode. Its a monster, major battle, final feeling sort of episode. Angel even appears briefly to round out a cast that was split four seasons ago. We get the end and it walks that delicate balance between feeling too much like just another episode and being a special episode gracefully and well.

The best episode, in my opinion, that is a finale is The Last One from Friends.

A half hour sitcom has certain things that must happen in order for an episode to be considered good and the biggest one is laughs. In writing an episode that would make millions cry (I was among them) how do you make it funny? Whose story lines need to be focused on and what relationships need to be explored. Obviously for Friends the biggest question was: will Ross and Rachel get together -- but there are other relationships that need closure. Monica and Chandler's baby needs to be born, Chandler and Joey need to have a story line. Rachel is leaving for Paris. And, as usual, Pheobe needs to be just a little bit weird.

The solution to this last was to have Pheobe sing-narrating for a little bit. One way to get laughs, yet still within her character and still adding to the plot (a bit). Joey and Chandler get their conclusion with the Chick and Duck story line. The baby(ies) are born and Monica is finally a mother. And of course Ross and Rachel get together.

The final shot of the show is the main set piece, the girl's apartment, empty and the keys. Its just a sweet, and beautiful way to end the show and remind us that the whole premise is to make us laugh, make us cry, and watch these six people interact.

Well, its been two days writing this and its late now, so I have no witty way to end this. Some finales are good, some finales are not, but the most important thing is how you feel at the end. How do you feel after watching a finale?

Pacing (The Black Jewels Trilogy - Anne Bishop)

I was going to write about Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland but the more I wrote, the more it turned into a negative, annoyed review of a passing movie that didn't resonate with me. So I decided to let it go. Instead, I got my parents to bring me down a trilogy of books that I love dearly, but had kind of forgotten about -- The Black Jewels by Anne Bishop. The three books in the trilogy are Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows and Queen of the Darkness (and please note, the cover art on these books is a hallmark of don't judge a book by its cover).

I started reading on Monday evening and have just finished the third book for the umpteenth time. I mention this for a particular reason. I read books quite quickly. Maybe not as fast as some, but I'm dyslexic, so I have an excuse. When I read The Black Jewels it feels like I'm reading fast. It feels like I can't stop because, while I know what is going to happen, I need to keep going. And its this speed, and need to go on, that interests me.

To be honest, I've never read any of Anne Bishop's stuff, so I don't know if it holds the same intensity that these three books hold. I did, for a while, hold on to a collection of her short stories that included one about the same characters, but I never felt the need to read it. I've been told her other stuff isn't as good. So, if we take these three books as masterful creations of pacing that she hasn't managed to recreate, then what is so special about these books?

I'm not going to provide a synopsis this time, so I'll try and keep this easy to understand without reading the books. However, I will probably delve into spoilers of, at the very least, the first book.

So what is it about the pacing of these books that is so captivating?

I would like to say that it has something to do with how you know, subconsciously, what is going on from the beginning. Tersa tells us, in what I like to think of as a midnight voice to match Janelle's, "She is coming", and we are swept into the story -- or the mystery, or whatever you want to call it. There is a prologue, and it is brief, but it informs so much of what the story is going to be while creating lovely foreshadowing. I think all prologues could be held to this standard because while most people complain about prologues (well not most, but there are quite a few who do) and claim they give away too much, this one gives the reader a direction, a forceful wave of motion that can't be stopped until you reach the end, untangle the web and finally know what she means by "She is coming", while giving information that could not otherwise be given. This is what a prologue is for.

But the prologue is only part of it. You can only glean so much of what is happening from the prologue and the information found there, it is also in the fact that you see the world Janelle (the person whom Tersa was saying was coming) inhabits, but not the body she inhabits. The narration jumps between the people who see her and are surrounded by, which gives us leave to see into the minds of her enemies.

Even this, though, is not enough to get through the first book. While in the first book, the movements of the enemy forces are driven more by luck then scheming, and as the serious moves on the villains become little more then bumbling idiots -- the real drama relegated to the main characters and the emotional tones of the story. Still, knowing the villains as well as the protagonists, gives us some more knowledge of where the story is going, as they are the schemers, and move things into place for the action to occur.

That isn't the whole thing though, and I find myself at a loss after looking at those two items. It occured to me that it might be in the writing style -- the delicate word choice, the short, to the point sentences (that I have not managed to achieve clearly) -- the way she paces this story, moving it along, while not hurrying it to the conclusion.

And that, unfortunately, can't be taught.

Hopefully though, it can be practiced.

First Tags

In one of the current novels I'm working on, I decided to write it with a TV shows standard arcs, as if each chapter was an episode of a season. It worked really well to be honest, and I got reinvested in my newest novel again by thinking about trying it again. Only this time making the chapters actually like episodes of TV shows. So I started looking at tags of the first episode of various shows.

Legend of the Seeker came to mind first as it is an epic fantasy (similar to what my novel will be like). LotS starts with Kahlan running from a quad, and heading into Westland. Then you go to Richard... half naked... okay, distracted. Craig Horner's torso is just so attractive.

If you think about it in terms of character developement, the tag is an important event. You've got your first impression of the characters in these brief moments. Here we get an impression of Kahlan -- strongly. We start out with her in action -- running. She also has an emotional, caring moment when her sister gets shot. We get to see the major facets of her personality in the first, what five minutes? We also get to see Kahlan's power at work, and watch her face down death without fear. And then she's all "I'm a lone ranger you can't touch me emotionally!" but is totally into Richard even though she knows its wrong.

Richard as well gets some of this. We see Richard caring about a young boy and being a generally nice and sweet guy -- and then we get to see him being really impulsive and running off to help Kahlan because she's pretty in white. Or because that's what his personality is like. He doesn't back down from a fight, he defends the weak (well he thinks Kahlan is weak), and tries to help even though she's a stranger.

And of course we get to start with the UST. Kahlan and Richard get into it right away and the music indicates everything you need to know about their future relationship.

I stopped off next with Xena, same creative vibe from it, but older, because I'm writing a fantasy, but also because my novel deals with a redemptive quest and who better to look at then Xena for that?

The tag once again sets up characters well. Xena has two protagonists: Xena (duh) and Gabrielle.

Xena's first scene is melancholic as she attempts to deal with events in her past (we see through flashbacks that she was a warrior princess pretty much), and she wants to make up for her past sins. She has a conversation with a boy who's parents she killed, and decides to give up her battle gear -- attempting to bury it. But when given the opportunity to fight, she enjoys it -- you can see it on her face the way she laughs and has this bright smile on her face, because its what she's meant to do. Thus, we are set up with a conflicted character, one who wants to do the right thing, but doesn't know how to not fight.

Gabrielle's first act on the show is to offer herself in place of another. If you've seen the show, it is completely who Gabrielle is. She is never conflicted about her actions, knows what is right and will act on it. What you see as the tag moves on is that she's fighting -- she wants to save herself and others -- but in another way its also fighting against what she is. Gabrielle does go under significant changes as the show progresses, but she will always be at the heart of the matter, and will remain Xena's moral center.

Without even trying too hard this show has set up the central conflict, and without the protagonists having a conversation, you can tell what's going to happen already. Its a very strong tag in that way. Character here is more important even then in what happened in LotS because it is so well defined that you don't really need plot to move it forward.

Moving on to a show that is not high fantasy, but more sci-fi, I looked at Torchwood's opening. They don't really have a tag for this episode, so I just watched a bit, knowing what happens in its entirety. 

As a great lover of this show I would say that the character's well done in this tag as any other -- but as a more impartial, looking for information kind of viewer, I would say you get hints from this tag. There's the hint about Jack being not quite normal (Jack: Still at least I won't get pregnant. Never doing that again.) and Owen being a bit of an ass, as no one wants him to talk to the dead guy, and Tosh being not so good at communication. The best you get from it is that Jack is the father figure of the group, and Gwen is a clever-clogs because she figures out how to watch Torchwood at work.

Gwen then gets more of an intro with the rest of the act (and episode). They introduce her as an every woman -- though in reality she's kind of special -- but the point of the tag is to make the viewer feel like you're with Gwen the whole time. She is our lead in and as a result, she is the most important character. Its interesting to see how she gets drawn into this world where there are weevils and people get brought back to life, and how she won't let it go, won't stop picking at the surface of things, as if she just has to know (which comes up later in the show).

By giving her the tenacity to keep going despite the odds, we get invested and I think that's what gives this tag its edge. Unlike the previous two examples, we're drawn in as Gwen is, and its not so much about character as it is about the possibility of what she's looking at.

We see in the Firefly tag the loss of the Battle of Serenity Valley. This is a classic setting up a story so exposition doesn't have to happen later and I love Joss Whedon for doing it this way. This is a very important scene in Mal's life -- and in Zoe's -- but definitely Mal's, and it builds his character incredibly. You see him caring for his men, looking out for people and truly believing in something -- the moment when he kisses the cross -- that's the moment. And you see it -- the Mal we know, or will come to know, who will never give up. We also get the usual amusingness of Joss Whedon's dialogue with Wash. And there is a set up for what this show is going to be about -- space pirates.

The thing about Firefly's tag is that it does so much with so little time -- setting up the show, introducing us to our main protagonist, dealing with the fact that Mal is a haunted, haunted man, and seeing the clear difference between Mal of the past and Mal now (also, Nathan Fillion being on a Joss Whedon show and not scaring the shit out of me... oh well, I watched Buffy before Firefly I realize that Nathan Fillion was Mal before he was Caleb).

Speaking of Buffy, in her show we have an interesting situation -- considering Darla is set up, and she's not a main character. But its a good way to show what exactly is going to happen in this series -- vampires exist, and we're going to blow your silly little minds. Its much shorter then the other tags I looked at and I think that's what makes it so worth while. Its to the point, we don't get character development, its a good start to a monster of the week kind of show.

Lets look at an example out of the fantasy realm -- Grey's Anatomy has a sort of shtick that makes introductions easy -- the voice over:

Meredith: The game: They say a person either has what it takes to play, or they don’t. My mother was one of the greats. Me, on the other hand… I’m kinda screwed.

OH! A fish out of water story! Not knowing what the hell you're doing! Ah to be a medical intern (I was going to go to medical school, I know GA in no way exemplifies a real intern's life, but the feeling is similar). We get to meet Derrek, and Meredith of course, and get to peek into her head and its interesting to have a voice over at the beginning because it means you get to add in all sorts of information that is necessary to know about the character. I almost feel like its cheating though. 

One thing that GA manages to do well though, is to throw the characters into action, despite it not being a fantasy show where anything can happen. GA is incredibly dramatic, and you get to see all the drama unfold in front of you in an addictive mess.

On a medical note -- let's look at Scrubs, where the tag introduces you to goofy, cute JD. Here again you get a voice over -- but this is more personal then Meredith's voice over -- its just whatever thoughts go through his mind. We get introduced to the characters quickly and efficiently, and quickly understand that this is going to be a comedy.

So from all of that, what do we get from the first tag ever? 

1. Introduce the important characters, giving them details that are salient and important to the character and therefore making the characters differentialable.

2. Set up the premise of the show: what is going to happen in each episode (monster of the week, case of the week) or general theme (fish out of water, space pirates!).

Beginnings are hard -- obviously, or I would be working on my own -- so it can be useful to see how other people do it and "borrow" their ideas (though don't steal that's just annoying).

Princess (Legend of the Seeker 2x13)

If you've never seen Legend of the Seeker the basic premise is that a young man from the Westlands (a place with no magic), Richard, finds out that he is the Seeker of Truth, and must travel into the Midlands (a place where magic abounds) to save the world from a man called Darken Rahl. His companions are his grandfather, Zedd, a wizard of the first order, and Kahlan, the Mother Confessor, who's touch can make anyone fall in undying love with her, loosing their soul to her (with whom also there is also major UST because of her power). They are later joined by Cara, once part of the deadly, and leather shod Mord Sith, who torture people into obedience to them, and who serve Lord Rahl. The television show is about their adventures through the Midlands, and is thoroughly enjoyable, full of snark and fun, while also having some freaking awesome fight scenes.

Its a classic hero story, with Richard playing the part of the hero, Kahlan being a strong ass kicking heroine, and Zedd being a crazy old man. Cara's addition to the show was a whole new level of sass, snarkiness and being awesome -- setting her at odds against Kahlan.

The Episode:

"Princess" has to be considered a "light" episode. Zedd, played by Bruce Spence gets up in drag, Richard, who usually has brown hair, goes blond, and Cara, who is usually the complete opposite of a lady, has to play a princess of delicacy and grace. Even the promotions played it up as a comedic episode, none of their usual "trying to make it sound much more deadly then it is" crap, it was full on – "look what we're doing to the character's you love! You're going to laugh your ass off."

And I did.

But that's not the point.

Lets go through the major pieces of the story now (I assign positives and negatives based on what I liked and what I didn't like. The number at the end means very little without anything to judge it against. We have to start somewhere though).

The Score:

The tag encompasses a huge amount of information -- probably why this episode felt rushed at the beginning. We had to get Sister Nicci back (+2 for being much sexier then her previous incarnation), Kahlan had to be captured (-1 for awkwardness of the CGI), Cara had to be confirmed a tomboy (+3, because Cara is always awesome no matter what), we had to learn about the Margrave , and his castle (-2 for info dumping, bad writers, bad), and of course Richard had to run after Kahlan (+1 for them being cute), making Zedd yell "Richard wait!" in a totally annoying fake way (-1 for bad line, but +1 for Bruce Spence making the most of it). Then we had to have Kahlan yelling at the Margrave that Richard will find her (+2 for Kahlan fighting against the guards and being super sexy, -1 for awkwardness of her statement about the seeker), and discover Sister Nicci's sinister plan involving getting the Margrave eternal life in return for the life of the Mother Confessor (+3 for Darken Rahl's apperance, as he always makes things better, and this info dump didn't feel too uncomfortable). Oh, and lest I forget, Kahlan gets thrown in a dungeon with a woman who is Magrave's first wife, who explains the subjugation of the women folk in his kingdom (-1 for being kind of boring and being way too much information for a tag). Overall there I have to -3 for the pacing which was all off.

As I said, a lot of information. It did feel rushed, and in some ways I would have liked it to be slower -- since I had watched the show before I like being able to settle in -- but I understand the need to give new viewers a lead in, so they can understand what the hell is going on. Still, writing wise it did feel slightly sloppy to do it in this manner. Information dumping was pretty much all you got, rather then a tension filled tag that leads well into the first act. Still, overall, the tag got a 3, so I suppose it was positive in the end.

On to the first act.

Richard and Cara discuss how to get into the castle where magic can't be used, before Zedd shows up and tells them about the local gossip which includes all the information we learned in the tag about how Magrave wants eternal life in exchange for the Mother Confessor (-1 for repetition, though its necessary for those that might have missed the beginning). We also learn that there a group of travelers heading to the castle, including a princess who Magrave is thinking of marrying whom he has never met (+3 for Richard not getting it and not being a Mary Sue, +1 for Cara being sexy, +2 for Zedd being super amusing). Then Richard gets it -- all they need is a princess. Cara does not get it (+2 for Tabrett Bethell's face at this point, -1 for cliched response).

Anyways, they head off and stop the princess's party from heading towards Magrave's castle, and get the clothes and disguises ready for heading into the castle (+1 for Zedd being hilarious). Then Zedd tells Cara that she must unlearn everything that she is and:

Zedd: Always defer to the opinion of your masculine betters.
Cara: There's no such thing.

(+4 for being AWESOME).

Then it turns out that women in Magrave's court only can speak in a rhyming scheme (because clearly they must go out of their way to make sure women think before they speak). This leads to further hilarity (+1). And then cut to Cara heading into a ball room. There is a furious amount of fan flapping -- was the heat on or something? (-2 for being distracting). Then there's a little bit of a duel between Cara and Drusilla, mostly about who can curtsy the lowest (amusing but no points for it as its minor). Cara gets points though for her painfully stated lyrical comment -- so in character and lovely to hear (+1). The Magrave tells her that she basically sucks and we cut out of the first act. Overall, I felt the need to -1 for the lack of Kahlan. Because Brigit is so pretty.

Actually pretty well paced after the mess of the tag. We end up with a score of 10, which is much higher then the tag, and there were only a few negatives.

Luckily, Act Two begins with Kahlan in the jail cell. She talks to Magrave's wife (who, coicidentally is Susan Sarandon, which I totally did not realize) about how if they can just get out of the cell, she can take all five gaurds. Because Kahlan is a BMF (-5 for Mary Sueism, +4 for Kahlan thinking of a way out instead of waiting for Richard to get her out). Meanwhile Cara must learn to dance, while Richard is all mopey because his girlfriend isn't there, and gets kind of prissy, asking why on earth he's there (-2 for Richard being mopey about Kahlan). There is more fan flapping (-1 seriously, turn the heat down). Then there is awkward flirting with a herald by Zedd.

Richard then tries to wonder around the castle -- obviously to find Kahlan (I'm tempted to take points off for it, but there are some amusing moments were Richard doesn't even realize that women are flirting with him because he's taking on the role of a womanizer, which is so not his kind of guy and Craig Horner is so amusing and pretty good at acting in it). There is more exposition, but its done well (+1).

There is more rhyming, but Magrave is looking at Cara's breasts (-1 for mixed messages). Cara then goes on to rap about torturing people, and its so much more in her style its awesome (+1). Richard complains to Zedd about getting some (-1). Zedd then tells Richard to try and seduce the Magrave's sister, who is... not attractive. And a thoroughly amusing non-verbal conversation goes on then (+1 for Richard being amusing). Then Drusilla tries to show up Cara, but there's no way that bitch could manage it, so Zedd gets them to go out and hunt, which Cara is really in to. Then we cut to Richard and the Magrave's sister making out -- which leads to them getting caught (+2 for Craig Horner's abs). Things are not looking good for our heroes as Act Two comes to an end.

Act two comes to a total of -1. First act to be a negative, though I didn't mind it all that much, it was a little slow (wow, pacing guys, its important). Things get exciting in act three though. Have no fear.

We start with Richard getting sentenced to marriage to the Magrave's sister. They head out to hunt, and Cara is finally able to be herself (+2 because Cara as herself is awesome).

Cara: I don't need magic to make a man beg for mercy.

More flirting between the herald and Zedd, creating more awkwardness (-1 for the awkwardness and attempting human with it). While Drusilla screams at the idea of hunting, Cara shoots the beast, goes over to it, cuts it open and offers the meat to Magrave in a very suggestive manner (+1 for sexiness). The Magrave is not happy about Cara's forwardness, he's apparently really attracted to it (+1 for Cara getting the guy by being herself). She's stopped talking in rhyme (+2 for thaaaaaaaank god). They head back to the palace and have dinner, with more fan fluttering (-1 for distraction).

But its okay because Nicci's about to appear. Richard and Zedd look at one another in shock and Richard attempts to hide behind his new blond hair (like it would work) when the sisters of the darkness come in (+2 for preeeetty outfits). I'm adding an +2 for the right pacing in this act, and ending in the right place, and just letting things go the way they should.

So we cut out of act three and we find ourselves with an 8 for act three.

We head back in right where we left off, and now the Magrave and Nicci talk -- in front of Richard who's using a wine goblet to hide himself? (-2 for making Nicci appear stupid). We go back to the prison, where Kahlan is making a knife thing with her plate which the guard doesn't seem to notice (-1 for the actor, not the writers). Kahlan tries to convince the Magrave's wife to help her, and manages it, pretty well (+1 for good writing).

We head back to the banquet, where Cara goes for the Magrave's nuts (in a good way). Cara gets him to leave the banquet and checking over his agreement with the Keeper (+1 for Cara being awesome). Cara then sweet talks the Magrave and threatens him (+1). They get into a fight and Cara is really being herself finally (+1 its awesome). Nicci figures out that Zedd is Zedd (+1 for not making her terribly stupid). A battle begins (+2 YAY!). Act four gets no add ons or subtractions, and we end up with a 3 for it.

Act five starts out where we left off. Richard killing left and right. Cara being freaking awesome -- theatening castration, and then punching out the Magrave while speaking in rhyme (+2). Then we head back to the jail where Kahlan gets involved in the fight and takes out the gaurds with a knife she made from a plate (+2 for her being awesome). Cara heads down to the jail, and more fighting ensues (+5 for all the battles). By the time Richard gets down to the dungeon, Cara and Kahlan have managed to kill all the guards (+1 for them being BMFs). Nicci gets cornered, and realizes that if she jumps through a window she can use her magic -- which she does, escaping in a clap of lightning light (+1 for awesome departure).

The Magrave wakes up to find out that everyone has left, and there's no eternal life (+1 for just comeuppance). The four heroes head out, and Kahlan teases all of the players, and is thoroughly cute (+2). Act five gets a 12, because its a good ending, and wraps up nicely while still opening up the rest of the season.

Overall this episode gets a 35. What does this mean? Nothing really. Its just the number I got when I added everything together.

Act Breaks:

So, I've given you the break down of the episode. Let's talk about how it was written now. TV shows are based on where to cut for commercial breaks to make sure the viewer will return. It used to be a tag, three acts and then an out tag, but as the commercial side of television has worn on, the episodes have gotten shorter and the commercials need to be squeezed in more, so now we have a tag and five acts.

LotS has the right kind of atmosphere to do really dramatic breaks. Its a fantasy, were the most dramatic and ridiculous things can be said and still be taken seriously. The first break of this episode was with Nicci talking to Rahl about her evil plan to kill Kahlan. The camera moved on to her face and watched the slight satisfaction that crossed it. It falls very well into a usual scene break for any show, but it feels very LotS: "Dramatic statements made, let's head into comercial break."

The second break is another dramatic statement, with the music swelling in the background for a terrible doom for our heroes. However, it raises the stakes for the characters by making it clear that if Cara fails massively, there will be consequences. There is an up of the stakes for the third break. Richard is in trouble, Cara is the one who's going to have to make the play to help save Kahlan. Again the stakes are raised at the end of the act when the Sisters of the Dark come in, and Richard finds out that Sister Nicci is among them. They know what Richard and Zedd look like and are unlikely to be fooled by the get up the characters are in.

I do feel as if the act felt more ended at the point when Cara offer's the Magrave the liver of the beast she had just killed, but I do understand the compulsion to make the end of an act more of a dramatic "Oh shit" moment then a "Cara is fucking hot" moment.

Of course the final break comes in the middle of a battle. That I can get behind quite well. The structure of raising tension and then raising it again in order to get to a point where it has to break is a good one, and a way to keep viewers watching.

This show has the blessings of being good at dialogue (well amusing dialogue and most of the time) and also knowing how to set up an epic arc with smaller side stories to break up the major arc. You can see it in the way they break the show -- set up, build the tension, add complications, action, action, and then a softening moment at the end to tie up the loose ends. Its why LotS, despite having moments that are not good in the show, is really an excellent watch.

Devices:

This episode uses two main devices: back from the dead, and playing with gender roles. How well they worked is what I’m going to talk about.

Let's start at the beginning. Sister Nicci, who was killed a few episodes ago, came back. LotS likes to do this -- have characters come back that is. They did it with... well let’s just say, if a character dies, they tend to get better (I will admit that this season at least they have a pretty good reason for it, what with banelings wandering around killing people, and true, its not really in the spirit of 'Getting Better', but it’s the best description I can come up with). Richard and Cara have both died. Zedd has been far into the underworld. I suppose Kahlan hasn't been killed yet, but she's been split in two, so I think that should count. Evil people have come back, middling people, like Kahlan’s sister have come back. Its all a little murky and seems like everyone can come back from the dead depending on plot. I like the imagery of coming back from the dead -- and I think that it works only if you use it sparingly.

Returning from the dead is a way of cheating death -- certainly an understandable wish -- but it breaks many laws of the universe -- especially, as with Cara, if your throat cuts cut. Using it to pretend to kill someone, as they are doing in these episodes, is a cheap shot at publicity. You don't create any sort of tension if you know the character is going to be back in the next episode.

Denna was killed recently (I love Denna, but that might be because Jessica Marais plays her, and she's preeeeetty). I know she's going to come back which makes her death -- which came after a redemptive moment, less of an emotional blow, which you could just feel was what the writers wanted (then again, if you watched Denna's death, then you might have been confused by Zedd's response to it -- which was to pretend nothing had happened, despite the fact that he saw Denna's redemption).

When you trivialize death and rebrith like this show does, then you lose its power. Sure it might be the point -- the main characters kill people all the time in the show -- but without the punch you got from it the first few times, it feels like the writers are falling back on old cliches to make the writing work for them -- rather then letting the story take them where it needs to be.

I was having a conversation with Bryan about how people write. He is a very concept driven, plot driven writer, while I am much more of a character driven writer. I feel like the characters speak to me and tell me where things are going much more then I am directing their actions, something that he makes fun of me for all the time, because "You write the story Rosey, you are God." but for me the plot happens naturally, because the characters do things, and it evolves because I know how things should happen because I've had practice and I've read and watched a lot. The writers of LotS aren't listening to their instincts -- they're listening to what will make the next promo bold and dramatic, instead of looking at the characters and what they need to have happen.

So, there, my little rant about being back from the dead.

On to the humorous part of the episode.

Ah humor based on gender roles, when will you ever get old? Cara and Kahlan are out gathering firewood while Zedd and Richard argue about herbs. Gotta tell you, despite my messed up view on feminism (more on that at a later date), I still find this amusing. I think its more that I like to see women taking active roles and making fun of boys for being silly. I realize its an over used cliche, but it can always give me a giggle. Plus Bruce Spence was thoroughly amusing at telling Cara that she can't cook, and the look Cara gave him was priceless.

All of Cara's looks are priceless though.

Then, of course, we get to the bit about Bruce Spence being in drag. Do you know how tall this guy is (6'7", that's how tall)? He's in a dress that's too short for him, and his hair is a little curly, and he still looks better then Richard, who's hair is blond in this episode. Yes, again, humor based on gender roles. There is a bit about how Zedd gets a look over by a man and it goes on throughout the episode. I will give it to the writers though -- they are made of win.

Cara: I think you have an admirer.
Zedd: Is there any reason why I shouldn't?

Is there always going to be something ultimately hilarious about a man dressing in women's clothes? At least with Zedd there was a reason it was so ridiculous -- his dress was too short because he's way too tall -- but if, say, Richard had been the one to dress up, it would have been just as funny. Our fundamental state it to find transvestites funny (going from male to female, I don't think many people find the other way as amusing, given that women can wear pants easily). The fact that it is always played for comedy is somewhat worrying, to my addled mind at least. Still, its effective. You want cheap laughs, you certainly get them with putting a man in a woman's dress.

The thing the writers did with this episode (and Bruce Spence did with his acting) was take the inherent humor and turn it up to eleven. I'm not saying that it was fundamentally funnier because it was Zedd in a dress, I'm saying that it was funnier in moments that weren't hackneyed, and when it a situation where it should have been for laughs, it didn't feel like they were writing it that way. And I salute them for that.

To be honest the funniest thing about this episode was Cara in a dress, trying not to be her usual self -- which is to say, kind of a wild child, with no manners -- and then turning back to it and getting what they needed by being herself instead of someone else.

A brief note: I found this episode hilarious, and funny, and totally cracktastic. My issues with it are on an artistic level, not on enjoyment level. Keep this in mind.